Alopecia Universalis

by Tracy
(Ontario, Canada)

My name is Tracy, and I started losing my hair when I was 24, and am 33 now and still struggling with hair loss for a condition called Alopecia Universalis. When I was 24 I was planning my wedding and was losing my hair rapidly, it started with my eyebrows, then my forehead started to receed, then I started noticing bald pathes all over my head.. By my wedding I had to change my head piece, to cover alot of my bald spots, a month after my wedding my father passed away, and I had lost 85% of all the hair on my body by then.

My husband was very supportive, I couldn't stand to look in the mirror with out crying and getting depressed, so he covered all the mirros in the house, and told me everyday that it didn't matter what I saw in the mirror, because the mirror can't see my inner beauty. I saw a dermatologist who diagnosed me with Alopecia Universalis and started a treatment of Steroid injects into my scalp and eyebrows.

I went once a month for anywhere from 50 - 150 injections in my scalp for little over 8 months, it seemed to work, my hair was growing back quite quick, but I was unable to grow it long. I didn't get anymore bald spots for about 7-8 years, although my hair was very thin, I had a full head of hair. However in the last 6 months, it has started falling out rapidly again, I have tried onion juice applications, I think it helped make my hair a bit thicker, but I couldn't stand the smell. (even 6 weeks after my last application, my scalp still smells like onions when it gets wet in the shower,& when it rains)

This time it is still fairly thick on top, but the back is quite bald, and the sides are real bad too, I have to wait a month to get back in to see the doctor, hoping all goes well this time around, but in the mean time, I was wondering what I would look like bald, cuz poeple ask me everyday if I'm getting chemo, or what is wrong with me, and I really don't feel the need to have to talk to strangers everyday about my condition.